wickersham



J. B. WIGKERSHAM, or NEW YORK, NY.

IRON FENCE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 8,189, dated July 1, 1851.

To all whom itmay concern:

Be it'known that 1, JOHN B. WIOKER- SHAM, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements. in. Portable IronFences; and

I do hereby declare the following to be a full,,clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making apart thereof in which a Figure 1, represents the fence complete. Fig. 2, represents one of the rails detached.

Fig. 3, representsthesections which coristi tute the post, and the arrangement ofithe slots therein. Fig. 4, represents a vertical section through the red line m, w, of Fig. 1.

Similar letters in the several figures represent the same parts.

The nature of my invention consists in constructing iron fences with sectional or divided posts, having slots therein, so arranged, as to break joint with each other when in place, and with rails made with an eye or loop in each end, which will pass through the slots in thetwo parts of the post whenplaced opposite each other, and

which will prevent them from slipping.

through said slots when the tops of the pieces constitutingthe posts are flush with each other, thus making the rails hold the sections and panelstogether, and the posts hold the rails in place, without the useof.

wedges, keys, bolts, or other fastenings of any'kind. It being a portable fence, easily removed, put up or taken down, without any fastenings but those in the construction of the post and rails themselves. a

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, 1 will proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawin s. r 1

lhe posts A are made of two pieces of flat bar iron of suitable size, having their lower ends bent round (as shown in Fig. 3,)

so that the broadest part of the bar shall enter the ground and stand parallel with the fence, and be opposed to any force ap-.

plied against either side thereof, (as seen in Figs. 1 and 4). The slots a, in the two pieces (Fig. 3,) which when put together "form the post, are so formed as that the rounded or enlarged parts thereof shallbe at the top of the slot in one of the sections, and at the bottom of the slot in the other; the upper one for holding the upper rail and the lower one for holding the lower, or rail immediately below it, as seen in Fig. 4.

1 sides of the same post. 1 common wooden pin 6, may be used to hold the panels, or the sections of the posts together while putting them up, but when the ends of the post as shown in Fig. 4, are firmly driven into the ground, it. will remain perfectly rigid, the rails and posts 1 The rounded parts of the slots are beveled ior countersunk from the face of theposts (shown by the left hand drawingof Fig, 3,) so as to take in a portion ofthe dead eye, or loop upon the ends of the rails, and which. when drawn in serves as a wedge for holding the posts firmly together as well as the sections whichconstitute the post; the

rails which lie in the posts, the one immediately over the other, being so put in as to havetheir dead eyes or loops on, opposite tending to hold each other together. If it is desirable to make the fence permanent, the ends of the posts may be set in stone or other blocks properly prepared for that purpose. a i

The ralls B, are made of round lron, having a dead eye or loop turned in each end,

which are slipped through the slots in the post, in the position of that shown in Fig. 2,

A small bolt, or

and when passed: through, is turned half round into the position shown in Fig. 1, so that the loop on the upper rail may rest flatwise on the loop of the lower rail, and which when the whole fenceis strained up, prevents the rails from being turned or loosened, or taken out. Theforming of the rails, as well as the bending and punching of the posts are all done by machinery, and

when put up in fagots may be easily transported an where.

It will e perceived, that when the loops are to be passedthroughthe slots, the tops of the posts will not be flush with each other, but one above the other; but when they are driven into the ground so as to be fiush on top, the slots which break joint will so have closed the spaces in each other, as to onlyleave room for the rails, as seen in Fig. 4, and the rails cannot be removed, without first drawing the posts out of the ground, and moving them sufi'iciently far to allow the flat parts of the loops to run past each other, so that they can be turned half round to bring them in line with the slots, when they can be slipped out. i

At suitable distances in the line of the fence I place screw-buckles c, for tightening up the rails, so as to make the whole fence firm, and which may also be used for taking up or letting out the rails, to compensate f or the contraction and expansion of the metal. I have found however by experience that when the fence is built in sections or panels of twelve fifteen or twenty feet, more or less, and the strain by contraction comes 011 the loop of the rail, as herein described, the loops will yield almost if not quite enough to allow for such contraction. The screw buckle is useful however, in straining up the fence, and may be made very cheap of common gas pipe cut into suite ble lengths, with a female screw out n .11. into which the screws having an eyeinto wh ch to hook the rail, is run.

The method of arranging the fence, is to put the panels together on the ground, having the ends of the posts near the pot where they are to be driven in, then raise up the fence and drive the posts into the ground firmly.

might be so drilled or punched in the sections of the posts, as to bring tee slots opposite each other, and by a pin through said 1 holes, hold them in such posltion until the 3 WVhen thus put together, holes I rails are properly arranged, and the fence raised up, when the pin should be withdrawn, and the posts driven in to the ground until the tops of the sections which constitute the posts are flush on top as seen in Fig. 4.

Having thus fully described the nature of my invention, and the manner of construct- ,ing the same, what I claim therein as new 1 prevent the rails which have a loop or dead eye turned on each end for that purpose from passing through or coming out, as

herein fully set forth.

JOHN B. WICKERSHAM. Y

Witnesses B. K. MORSELL, A. B. STOUGHTQN. 

